DEAD SEA, Jordan – The 2009 World Economic Forum meeting on the Middle East opened at the Dead Sea, Jordan, on Friday.

Some 1,300 businessmen and political leaders from 80 countries have arrived in Jordan to attend the conference.
The Middle East is home to many of the world's biggest oil and gas exporters, whose economies have boomed in recent years. But the financial slowdown is affecting growth plans.
Switzerland-based WEF said the conference would focus on the impact of the world economic recession on the Middle East.
Among the delegates are Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki, Iraqi Vice President Adel Abdel Mahdi, Iraqi Oil Minister Hussein al-Shahristani, and Qatari Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Sheikh Hamad bin Jabr al-Thani, Jordanian authorities said.